P

Symposium 2 “Globalized Popular Culture and Intercultural Studies”

anelistHow Can Popular Theater
Survive the Age of Globalization?
The Strategies of Performing Arts
Masaki Ukai
Professor, Kyoto Bunkyo University

Introduction“Popular Theater” can be defined as small-scalecolorful performing troupes formed around a leader andIn the second half of the twentieth century, popular

based on family labor. Troupes perform practically every

entertainment was greatly influenced by the explosive

day of the year without break, mainly in regular-perfor-spread of the instrument of mass media, television. And

mance theaters in the downtown area or outskirts of awhile we might say influenced, it was only one sector

city, or in regional hot springs, hotels, health centers,of entertainment and entertainers whose careers took off

and health resorts. Performances consist of mainly his-through it. A great deal of entertainment, especially rural

torical dramas about honor and human nature, and songentertainment based on stage shows, was dealt a lethal

and dance shows. Often, the program changes daily.

blow. Television cannot be said to be the only cause, but

They often perform for as low as the 1000 yen range formost of the traditional street performers and those who

regular-performance theaters, and the 2000 yen range at

performed from door to door disappeared from Japan

hot springs, which includes a boxed meal and drink.

between the 1960s and 1970s. In such a climate, it isAmong actors are people who jumped into the profes-

truly astonishing that popular theater has hung on at allsion themselves, but there are also many who have con-up to this day in the twenty-first century. I would like totinued their family traditions as members of the second

consider why popular theater did not die out evenand third generation (especially troupe leaders). In thethough it did not receive public assistance as a tradi-

past they were called tabi-shibai (traveling theaters),

tional or national art, and in what way it will change in

yose-shibai (vaudeville theaters), and dosa-mawari

the future.

(exile-rounds), but this genre came to be generally
known as taishu-engeki (popular theater) from the 1970s

1. Popular Theater as a Genre(Ukai 1996: 179–186).
It is not very often that popular theater is shown on

65How Can Popular Theater Survive the Age of Globalization? The Strategies of Performing Arts

mass media outlets. Likewise, aside from a certain few,

tional Japanese theater. There are about 300 kabuki ac-

the troupe leaders and performers are not very welltors. Aside from the number of actors, with only threeknown. In places such as regular-performance theaters,

theaters, there is a limit to how many kabuki perform-

regional hot springs, and health resorts, there are at mostances can be put on at the same time. If so, if we calcu-

about 200 regular staff. From this, although it is called

late each of the three theaters (the (previous) Kabuki-za“popular theater,” it is in a situation where it cannot re-of Tokyo (1800 seats), the National Theater of Japan

ally be said to be receiving popular support.

(1500 seats), and Osaka’s Shouchiku-za (1500 seats)) as

Although some groups are trying to unify the in-being sold out for both day and night performances, thedustry, there are no statistics, so let me give a generallargest number of people who can see kabuki on a cer-

outline of the scale of the genre called popular theatertain day comes to only 8600. In other words, in terms of(as of July, 2011), although I can only make a rough es-

both number of actors and amount of audience, current

timate.

popular theater is three times the scale of kabuki. Inci-

The number of troupes listed on the “by troupe

dentally, the number of entertainers registered withleader and troupe name” performance information pages

Yoshimoto Kogyo are approximately 700, the total num-in the popular theater fan magazine “Engeki Graph”

ber of sumo wrestlers is about 750, and there are 650(“Theatrical Graph”) is about 120. If we assume there

rakugo story tellers. There are very few entertainers in-is an average of ten members in a troupe, that makes thevolved in the arts of Japanese puppet theater, kodan

number of people involved in popular theater nation-

story-telling, and rokyoku narrative singing.

wide to be about 1200. Of course not all people associated with a troupe perform on stage. However, I believe
it fair to assume that at least 80 percent of those are performers. Doing so, we can estimate that there are approximately one thousand popular theater performers

2. Popular Theater in the Second Half ofthe 20th Century(1) From Post-War to the 1960s
Popular theater entered a golden age directly after

nationwide.
From the aspect of theater attendance, if we assume

the Pacific War.1 Overcome by defeat in the war, popular

one troupe draws 200 people in a day, that totals 24,000

theater pulled in people starved of amusement. Kaichiro

people nationwide who are going to see popular theater

Furukawa, writing on the people of the popular theater

every day. This is only 0.002 percent of the populationin Kansai, wrote the following.

of Japan, and if we compare this to the number of people“From two hours before show time, a double-line

watching TV, we can see what a very slight market shareof customers stretched for 100 meters in front of the the-of the general public is supporting them.

ater.

But if we see these figures as just one genre of pres-“More and more kept coming, and the doorman

ent-day Japanese entertainment, it is not at all small.

would throw their entrance fees into a wooden apple box

Let’s compare it with kabuki, considered to be tradi-by the entrance. When it started to overflow, he would

1

Kaichiro Furukawa puts the first golden period of popular theater at the fifteen years between the end of the Taisho era (1926) through1939, and the second golden period as postwar (1947) through the second half of the 1950s. (Furukawa 1980: 9)66

Masaki Ukai

stomp it down, then start throwing more in. There was

Kansai’s 55 regular-performance popular theater estab-a time when he greeted the customers covered in sweat.”lishments in 1960, there were only 31 in 1963, 20 in(Furukawa 1980a: 10)

1965, 17 in 1966, 14 in 1968, and as few as five in

After that, until the first part of the 1960s, popular

1973.2 As Furukawa relates, one theater director’s words

theater started to receive regular support from cus-reflect these numbers: “We hit rock bottom in aroundtomers, even while being pressured by movies and1972 and 1973, and at that time I thought the industry

striptease establishments. For example, if we look at themight even completely disappear.” (Furukawa 1980a:

records of performances printed in Kyoto Shimbun, in10) However, popular theater has survived for almost

the case of Tohji Theater, the predecessor of current

forty years since that rock-bottom time, and still now

striptease club DX Tohji, it was after 1958 that popular

exists.

theater performances started to decline and the establishment started to rely mostly on striptease perform-(3) The “Popular Theater Boom” of the 1980s

ances. And the 昭劇 that was in Otsu was remodeled

Entering the 1980s, popular theater entered a timefrom a movie theater, and from March 1958 throughof being what could even be called a fad. When theJuly 1962 was a small regular-performance theater used

Mokuba-kan opened as a regular-performance theater in

exclusively for popular theater.

Asakusa, Tokyo and received way over the estimatednumber of customers, regular-performance theaters(2) The Spread of Television and Decline of Popular

started opening up one after the other in metropolises

Theaterand regional core cities such as Fukuoka, North Kyushu,

As mentioned in the introduction, television was an

Hiroshima, Okayama, Matsuyama, Kobe, and Nagoya.

epoch-making form of media that fundamentally

Concerning this popular theater boom, two causeschanged how we enjoy entertainment. Before television,entertainment was all stage shows, or live performances.

can be named.
One is the success of the troupe leader convention

That is to say, the performance could not be experienced

in Kyushu. In September of 1980, “The First Nation-

without the performers and viewers sharing the samewide Troupe Leader Conference” was broadcast in thetime and space. However, television made it possible tofollowing October as a special entitled “晴れ姿！

enjoy entertainment from one’s home. There was no

役者座長大会,” and its liveliness made a strong im-

旅longer a necessity to get oneself to the theater or musicpression on viewers across the country. This program

hall. It was therefore natural that with the spread of tel-became the “ignition point” of the popular theater boom

evision, there would be a decline in the entertainmentand “after this, business redoubled in the Kanto andindustry.

Kansai regions” (Hashimoto 1983b: 88).

It is a fact that popular theater was greatly dam-

Another is the nation-wide popularity of Tomio

aged. I can cite only fragmented pieces of data, but of

Umezawa, known as “Downtown Tamasaburo.” In plays2

By the 1970s, remaining regular-performance theaters were only in Kansai (Osaka and Kobe) and Kanto (Tokyo and Yokohama). They
had already disappeared from Kyushu, known as the home of popular theater. And, as of July 2011, there are a total of twenty regular-performance theaters in Kansai, located in Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, and Wakayama.

67

How Can Popular Theater Survive the Age of Globalization? The Strategies of Performing Arts

he played the foolish comic relief, and in dance shows(5) Popular theater had the strong roots necessary to

he made an about-face into an alluring female. In 1978

make survival possible.

he succeeded the name of the sub troupe leader of the

I will look at each of these as follows.

troupe of which his own brother was troupe leader, butby that time he was already the most popular actor of(1) Health Centers and the Preservation of Troupes

the time in Kanto (Hashimoto 1983b: 114). What madeas Cooperative Bodies of Entertainers

his name and face widely familiar to society was the tel-As the regular-performance theaters where popular

evision series “You’re Not the Only Lonely One,”

theater was performed started going under one after thebroadcast on TBS from June through August of 1982.

other, a new public performance location surfaced. It

The hit of the year, Umezawa played the part of a pop-

was the health center. What is said to be the pioneer ofular theater actor playing a female role. In October ofhealth centers was the Funabashi Health Center (in Fun-the same year Umezawa released the LP “夢芝居,” andabashi, Chiba), which opened in 1955. Around a central

then went on to perform in NHK’s year-end “Kohaku

large bath house was an amusement park, bowling alley,

Uta Gassen” in 1983.

swimming pool, and lodging facilities. From then on,

As seen above, the driving force of the popular the-places where families and group package customers

ater boom of the 1980s was television. Ironically, pop-

could spend the day enjoying a variety of leisure activ-

ular theater came into fad due to the television that had

ities were built in each region across the country. Healthcaused its decline.

centers always, or to the degree that “always” is appropriate, were fitted with theaters with stages, performance

3. Popular Theater’s Survival Strategies

areas, a great hall, and a concert hall, and large audiences were attracted by the shows of popular singers.

So, how has popular theater survived in the face of

However, such were only on special occasions, and pop-

television’s influence? This can be summarized in theular theater performers were slotted as filler on ordinary

following four points. (1) By basing themselves at healthdays.3centers as venues, troupes were able to preserve their

However, health centers that are bringing in dinner-

status as cooperative bodies of entertainers. (2) Although

included group package customers bring in few who arerevenue from performances was low, gifts of admiration

serious about watching performances. Patrons who getcompensated and performers could live off of low

drunk during the show and cause a disturbance can besalaries. (3) They targeted middle-aged women, theirseen. Because of this, over health centers, regular-per-strategy being to draw in a small number of regular cus-formance theaters were recognized as being the main

tomers. (4) They had the charm of contact and exchange.

venue. Also, the fee was low at health centers.4 How-

3

Popular theater performers were not promoted at all health centers, as singers and folk song troupes, girls’ operas, and a variety of entertainment were shown. It is said that health centers that featured popular theater were often small-scale, low-budget establishments.

4

The performance fees at health centers were sometimes so low that they could only be called illegal. Hashimoto gives examples such as
the following. “Because there were fewer troupes than there were hot spring resorts, they regularly underpaid with a straight face, and in
the worst cases performance fees would be about 83,000 yen, inviting a situation where each troupe would seal their own fate” (Hashimoto
1983: 56).

68

Masaki Ukai

ever, according to a monthly performance contract,follows the play. Audience members hand these hana di-health centers furnished meals, and troupe members

rectly to the performers during the show. Performers arelodged in a dormitory. In other words, while a troupe

sometimes given items such as clothing and kimono

was performing at a health center, their basic living

sashes, folding fans, and food and drink. However, hananeeds of food and lodgings were guaranteed. Overall,refers to cash, at most 10,000 yen. There are various

troupe living was more stable than it had been before.

ways of handing it to the actors: by folding it into a ki-

More important than anything was that by basing

mono sash, by pinning it to a collar, by tying it into a leithemselves at health centers, they were able to preserveand putting it around the neck, and by simply throwing

their status as cooperative bodies of entertainers called

a roll of bills onto the stage.

“troupes.” Instead of, say, an individual actor making

Those who assertively support performers econom-

his way as a TV personality, by continuing as a troupe,

ically through hana are called “hiiki” (patrons), as op-

they were able to adjust their performances to the needs

posed to fans. Considering it as a part of the show, thereof the audience with programs rich in variation, and pass

are many patrons who hand it over in a way that makes

down acts and techniques through blood and master-ap-

their favorite performer stand out. And there are some

prentice relationships, and through daily life together.

patrons who do not want to stand out, and hand the(2) Financial Support through Gifts from Admirers

quite a sum when one becomes a star. For example, one

Actor incomes from popular theater are unbeliev-

troupe leader in Kyushu related the following in an in-money to the performer backstage. These hana come toably low. When I myself was an actor in popular theater

terview in 1983.

from 1982 through 1983, I received a mere 15,000 yen“I once received five million yen in one shot, andper month. This was not particularly low, as Furukawa,(at one health center) one patron lodged there for forty

who in 1980 researched widely on the popular theater

days, and in total I received ten million yen.”of Kansai, also accounts, “According to the data I have

(Hashimoto 1983a: 86)

gathered, the amount was on the whole about twenty to

In addition, patrons support performers in otherthirty thousand yen” (Furukawa 1980b: 15). However,ways. If you go out on the town together, the patron pays

being single and staying in dormitories and dressing

for the taxis and meals. On the town, patrons buy things

rooms, if I lived my life eating the food provided me,such as clothing and shoes for the performers. They also

not purchasing any unnecessary clothing, and trying not

pick up the tab for costumes and wigs, or even pay off

to go out on the town, I did not feel any great lack.

performers’ car loans. In this way, if you have a wealthy

However, naturally there would not be enough if
one were to try to make costumes and wigs, support apatron, you can live a considerably good life without
digging into your own pocket.

family, or purchase cars and other consumer goods.

However, in order to attract patrons one must have

What supplements the extremely low salary to allow one

technique, talent, looks, and resourcefulness, and pa-

to prepare for oneself everything necessary for perform-trons are not something that every popular theater per-ing and to make a normal lifestyle possible, or even one

former has. In my own case, I had fans, but I did notabove that level, is “hana” (gifts or tips).

have any patrons.

At a popular theater show, a song and dance show

Hana are the barometer of a performer’s popularity

69How Can Popular Theater Survive the Age of Globalization? The Strategies of Performing Arts

and ability, and attaining a patron can be said to be a riteof bringing in zealous repeat customers of a specificof passage for a performer. Only performers with pa-

number. To put it simply, different from a kabuki theatertrons survive in the world of popular theater. And it’s tohaving people come once a month for 10,000 yen per

survive that popular theater performers make themselves

show, popular theater regular-performance theaters hadup, dress up, and polish their acts.

people come every day for 1,000 yen per show.
First, this marketing strategy is visible in the form

(3) Drawing in Middle-Aged Women as Regularof the performances. The format of a daily-changing,

Customers

low-priced program at popular theater regular-perfor-

Even if one secures a place to perform at a healthmance theaters is a prerequisite for having customers

center and even finds patrons, if performances do not
draw in an audience, the theater itself cannot continue.

who visit every day.
Second, in order to draw in regular customers, they

There is a necessity to narrow down the target audience,

have demonstrated a spirit of thoroughness of service.

and draw in a constant flow of viewers.

Not only the troupe leader, but down to the regular mem-

The viewers that popular theater targeted were mid-bers of the troupe change their costumes and wigs anddle-aged women. Not only that, to speak frankly, they

appear several times on the stage every day, for plays

targeted dowdy aunties and old ladies who were of aand dances and singing. And after the final performance,class with neither high income nor high education, but

the performers get ahead to the exit and see off the cus-

had the means and time to be able to go out to a show

tomers, bowing and saying thank you.

on a weekday afternoon.

The performers learn the names and faces of regu-

These women had been ignored by mass marketinglar customers, and speak to them individually as theyand the mass media during that period of high economic

leave. Being recognized by the performers is also part

growth. For example, until the second half of the 1960s,

of the process of becoming one of the core fans.

there were hardly any television programs that claimed
the interest of this class.5 Popular theater was targetinga niche market that was outside the field of vision ofmass media.
However, large halls in city centers also targeted(4) The Charm of Contact and Exchange
I’d like to describe the charm of the actual populartheater.
The charm of popular theater, said by both perform-

middle-age women in just the same way that popular

ers and customers, is “contact” and “exchange.” It’s thetheater did. But the tactics of popular theater regular-

feeling of oneness given off by a performance at a small

performance theaters was different. The strategy of large

theater. It’s the frank communication between the stage

halls was to bring in unspecified numbers of people

and the audience during the play. It’s the everyday feel-through group packages. Group package customers can

ing that pervades a humble stage. It’s the conversations

also be called high-volume one-time customers. On theabout private life during send-off. It’s running into theother hand, regular-performance theaters had a strategy

performers out of costume at the local marketplace. It’s

5

The first “wide show” (variety talk show), “Norio Kijima’s Morning Show,” started in 1964, the afternoon wide show “Afternoon Show”
started in 1965, and “You at 3:00” started in 1968.

70

Masaki Ukai

the gossip and exchange of snacks that happens between

And finally, I’d like to say that the survival of pop-

members of the audience sitting near one another. Whatular theater we have seen above is due to the fact that it

the words “contact” and “exchange” indicate is this con-

was not a calculated project developed by industry pro-nectivity between performers and audience due to thefessionals. We can’t really say that it was engaged inlack of distance between them, and ideal communication

purposefully through public relations or market pioneer-that is characteristic of popular theater.

ing. It would be more accurate to say that both as an in-

I do not mean to say here that a humanity lost in

dustry and as individual troupes, they did not purposely

modern society is alive. However, it is a fact that thisact so in order to survive, so much as because they werekind of connectivity and communication cannot be cre-pushed into a niche market by the passage of the ages,

ated by mass media.

and ended up surviving.

Also, the fact that this charm cannot be taken up by

But, when spreading out roots within the niche, itmass media in itself becomes a point in favor of popular

takes a special strength to survive. Popular theater hadtheater. Performers of popular theater became “regionalsuch strength. And with roots, people who have a certain

specialty” and “known by anyone who’s anyone” stars

sense of smell, such as the auntie and old lady class as

within each of the blocks of Kyushu, Kansai, and Kanto,

well as patrons, are attracted, approach, and become

and within a limited number of regular-performance the-hooked.

aters and health centers. Not on the big screen or television, audiences can come into contact with these stars
live, and so close that they could touch them if they

4. What Will Happen Next to Popular Theater?

reached out their hands. Such conditions give fans a spe-

After that, popular figures have been taken up by

cial sense that “I’m the only one who knows him.” And,the mass media, it rode through the “lost age” of post-

having “my star,” produces strong support for the per-bubble Japan, and now in the 21st century, popular the-formers. People cheer on performers, and using moreater is in good health. We can no longer use the phrases

contemporary terms, they back the performers as “sup-“disappearing art” or “just getting by”; popular theater

porters” more than “fans.” Their status as professionalcan be said to be a full genre of its own.

local entertainers came from the nature of popular the-Entering the beginning of the 21st century, the risingater, but we can say that the fact that they are not takenof the third generation of the public theater world has

up by mass media simply increases the scarcity factor.

been striking. Those who debuted in the post-war golden

But this charm relies on the fact that popular theater

age and survived the decline due to the spread of televi-

is a minor genre. I want to note that it is something thatsion (born in the 1940s) can be called the first genera-

is lost once a performer starts performing in big halls ortion.6 We can call the second generation those who rose

makes a break into mass media.

as the younger generation of the boom of the 1980s(born during the second half of the 1950s and the(5) Strong Roots

6

1960s). Now, those born in the 1980s and the top of the

I am calling this generation the “first generation” to simplify the story. However, in popular theater at that time there had already been one
or two generations before them.

71How Can Popular Theater Survive the Age of Globalization? The Strategies of Performing Arts

1990s are just now starting to become the troupe leadersand star performers.

7

This change of generation in a troupe often takesof Japan and of local districts, underground idols, local
idols, and B-class gourmet?
The key to the future of popular theater is the ten-

the form of a succession of troupe leader. Performers ofdencies of the target market of middle-aged women.

the past generation take the parts of villains, old people,

What worried me when I became involved in popularand troupe managers8 supporting the troupe leader, andtheater in the first half of the 1980s was what will hap-

it is not a system where there is strife between the gen-

pen after the aunties and old ladies coming to see us at

erations. Due to this changing of the generations withinthat time stopped coming. However, now, that worry

the troupes and preservation of the troupe as a coopera-

was unfounded. The reason was that after them, a newtive body, as a minor performing art it seems that we canclass of aunties started frequenting theaters.

say that there will be no concern over successors for another fifteen years.

However, there is no guarantee that from here on,
the auntie sector will provide a stable supply of audi-

The popular theater world is also taking part in dis-ence. Previously I wrote that there are no worries oversemination of information through web sites, blogs, andsuccessors for the next fifteen years, but even with suc-video upload sites. However, up until now, this has notcessors, the genre will die out if supporting customers

made a significant change to the popular theater world.

disappear.

More than bringing in new customers, they are no better
than tools to preserve and maintain current relations.
Rather, to the extent that the digital age has madeConcerning this point, there are two possible theories, as follows.
One theory is that young women will someday be-it easier to make copies, it can be said that the fact thatcome aunties, and because they will come to enjoy pop-

the experience of public theater cannot be copied has

ular theater and Enka, and so from now on there will

made that experience even more important. This is acontinue to be a stable supply of customers. This is astrong point of popular theater, which emphasizes per-view of the future of popular theater based on an exten-

formance as being a live event.

sion on the fact that popular theater has been supported

We could also say that the marketing of AKB48,

by a fixed number of customers since the 1980s. And as

the “idols you can go and meet” who started out mostly

has been seen with the Korean boom of the 21st century,

performing live in their own small theater in Akihabara,

we can say that there is groundwork for that.

stole the business model of popular theater’s targeting a

Another theory is that as the local aspect of popularspecific small segment and offering the charm of contact

theater becomes diluted, it only seemed that the auntie

and exchange. Or, can’t we say that popular theater,class was attending at a stable number because at thewhich at a glance seems to be behind the times, is in facttime the population was increasing. So, in real numbers,

one step ahead of the fads and topics that have come up

the number of women becoming aunties is actually de-since the turn of the century, such as deflation period

creasing. In the past, there were enough aunties who

culture, the “wa” (Japanese-style) boom, the come-back

lived within walking distance to fill the theaters, but now

7

From this third generation of performers, names known in the mass media include Daigoro Tachibana and Taichi Saotome.

8

This person is responsible for the management of the troupe.

72

Masaki Ukai

many aunties come by train, bus and car from further
away. This has been made possible by improvements intransportation, and supports the theory that the population of people who are moved by the charm of populartheater is decreasing.

pp. 179-186.
Ukai, Masaki (2008), “Nezuyosa no riyu: Ima wo ikiru
bunka toshite.” In Kamigatageino, 170.
Uchida, Tadayoshi (2002), “Kodokeizaiseichoki no funabashiherususentah.” In Gendaifuzoku 2002 20 seiki

The future of popular theater branches dependingon which theory you take.

no iseki, gendaifuzoku kenkyukai nenpo no. 24.
Hashimoto, Masaki (1983a), “Taishuengeki ninki zachointerview.” In Shingeki 350.

References
The following materials are written in Japanese.

Hashimoto, Masaki (1983b), Tabisugata otokono
hanamichi. Hakusuisha.

Ukai, Masaki (1988), “Taishuengeki to misemono, [AnFurukawa, Kaichiro (1980a), “Taishuengeki ga uketu-

introduction to a comparative study of the popular

idekita samazamana geino: senzen/sengo no dan-performing arts].” In Gendaifuzoku ‘88 to ‘89

pentekina.” In Kamigatageino, 66.

ripropoto.

Furukawa, Kaichiro (1980b), “Nandemojiten kore ga

Ukai, Masaki (1996), “Taishuengeki no rinkaku.” Intaishuengekino sekai da: sono genjo to sokumen wo

Toshi no kukan Toshi no shintai [21st century urban

shirutameno 15 no kaisetsu.” In Kamigatageino, 66.

sociology 4],Shunya YOSHIMI ed. Keiso Shobo,73